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October 18, 2018

A guide to Medieval creepy crawlers

…and how to protect yourself from them While there were a lot of delightful beliefs about animals in the Middle Ages (our favorite: hedgehogs roll on grapes to spear them on their spines so they can take them home to their young), this Halloween season we’re focusing on the creepiest creatures of all: reptiles! Not […]

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October 17, 2018

The strange fates of pillaged mummies

In an 1898 article for Scientific American, a chemist describes his process for working with a powdered material that smelled of myrrh and meat extract: On heating the powder turns dark brown black, with a pleasant, resin-like odor of incense and myrrh, then throws out vapors with an odor of asphaltum; it leaves a black […]

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September 27, 2018

On this day: the book that led to the creation of the EPA

On this day in 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published, bringing widespread attention to environmental issues caused by the use of synthetic pesticides in the United States. The book sparked controversy, particularly from chemical companies that dismissed Silent Spring’s assertions about the connection between pesticides and ecological health. However, Carson’s claims were borne out […]

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September 14, 2018

Artstor across disciplines: images for the humanities and social sciences

Artstor’s global collections span time and cultures and provide a wonderful resource for teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences. Our “Artstor Across Disciplines” LibGuide outlines how Artstor’s collections can be used in over 20 disciplines, including American studies, religious studies, the history of medicine, women’s studies, and more.

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September 12, 2018

Fake news: the drowning of Hippolyte Bayard

In a grainy 1840 photograph, a partially-covered corpse is propped against a wall, its decay evident in the darkening skin of the face and hands. The body is that of Hippolyte Bayard, an early inventor of photographic processes and supposed drowning victim, and written on the image verso is a strange note:

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September 10, 2018

Photographer Erich Lessing dies

Renowned photojournalist Erich Lessing passed away on August 29th in Vienna, Austria at the age of 95. A member of Magnum Photos and a former Associated Press photographer, he began his career photographing political events before switching his focus to cultural subjects.

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August 27, 2018

How do you browse millions of images?

With nearly 2.5 million images making up 300 collections in Artstor–plus hundreds more public collections–where does one begin browsing in Artstor? Browsing images may not seem like the best way to find an image, especially if you are looking for something specific. However, browsing allows you to serendipitously discover images you might not find with […]

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August 22, 2018

Register for an Artstor user account

Maybe you’ve been searching and viewing images in Artstor, and even downloaded images from public collections, but you’d like to do more. Register for an account and you can–it’s easy! Here’s what you get when you sign up Registered users at subscribing institutions can download images from Artstor’s core collections of 2.5+ million images, save and […]

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